Friday, September 20, 2013

Ahoy there, occasional readers. As some of you may know, the Escapist Expo is coming up again (October 4-6th in Durham, NC just like last time) and I'm going to be flying all the way out there again for it. But I'm not going to be there just to sit in a tree cupping myself, ho no, I've got panels to do.

There's a full list of scheduled panels now been put up here, which you should definitely check out in full 'cos there's a lot of neat stuff I'm going to miss 'cos I have to go be sparkling somewhere else, but since this is my blog that you're still psychotically checking regularly for updates that never seem to come, here's a list of just the ones I'm on. Hope to see y'all there.

The Escapist Q&A
You get to ask all of the Escapist contributors whatever you want. This Q&A session will start with a few introductions, but then we’ll jump right into handing the mic over to you to ask your heart’s desire. Why doesn’t Yahtzee wear his hat anymore? What does Jim think about sandwiches? Does Lisa Foiles wear boxers or briefs? Now’s your chance to ask! (We will be having three sessions of this Q&A over the weekend so don’t worry if you miss one.)

How to Create an Online Cult, er, Following
The internet is a fickle mistress, but when plied with social media and shameless plugs, she can bring great success. The internet celebrities discuss how they’ve expanded the reach of their empire through the use of self-promotion. Or how it all kind of just happened by an enormous stroke of luck.

The Hour of Love 2 – The Revenge
Say something positive about quick time events. Go! Last year we asked the audience to come up with short, one phrase topics, and present them to Jim Sterling and Yahtzee, forcing them to express anything good about the subject. Dr. Mark would then judge the two notorious curmudgeons to see if they were able to be as loving as possible. We’re bringing back the format for this Expo, so please bring your dastardly trap-topics. Please, no one mention Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Participants: Yahtzee Croshaw
Mark J Kline
Jim Sterling
Greg Tito

Location:
Fletcher Hall at the Carolina Theatre

Date:
Fri, Oct 4, 2013 4:30 PM

The Big Picture Quiz Show with MovieBob & Friends
MovieBob will test the knowledge of his fellow Escapists with a one-of-a-kind quiz show! We've picked the contestants, Bob is holding the questions - most culled directly from the over 150 episodes of “The Big Picture”... but YOU get to help decide which category the questions will come from! Movies, Comics, TV, Games, the power is in your hands. PLUS! If none of our esteemed contestants can answer a question, a lucky audience member might get a chance to try and maybe win a fabulous prize!

No Right Answer – The Escapists DebateThere’s nothing quite like demanding people to state their opinion on meaningless pop-culture items. Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, Bob “Movie Bob” Chipman, Graham Stark, Chris Pranger, and Dan Epstein join forces for what could possibly be the greatest series of debates since the dawn of time. We’ll start out using fan suggestions to debate in the style of the wildly popular “Who Would Win?” episodes of No Right Answer. Then the main event; A feature debate where panelists split into teams, and tag in when they have a killer point to make. If you’ve ever wanted to see Yahtzee and Movie Bob get into a shouting match, you’re welcome to attend and watch the magic unfold.

The Most Wonderful Games We’ve Never MadeGame designers talk about the best game ideas they had that never got made, for one reason or another. Or the game they've always wanted to make, but never did. Or, the game they heard about someone else making that never surfaced. There will be a lot secrets divulged, skeletons dug up, and bad ideas left to dry.

Game of the Year
2013 may not be over yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start talking about our favorite game of the year. What title should hold the honor? Is it a shooter? An RPG? Or should we surprise everyone and give it to Madden? The panel will discuss what they think about the games they’ve played this year and nominate their early pick for Game of the Year.

Your Game Idea is Bollocks/Brilliant – Pitch It Anyway
You think you got a great idea for a video game? Come to the panel and pitch it to our illustrious panel of game developers and critics, and we’ll tell you whether you are a crazy son of a bitch or a game design genius. There’s no middle ground - it’s either bollocks or brilliant. You have 30 seconds to explain your game idea, so make it count!